Bodega Worker Stabbed Trying to Stop Shoplifters

Shoplifters Stab Worker During Grocery Store Robbery on Malcolm X Boulevard 

The NYPD is searching for five males who shoplifted a store in Harlem. Cops said one of the shoplifters stabbed a bodega worker who tried to stop them. -Photo by NYPD

By Dan Gesslein

Manhattan Voice

March 17, 2024

MANHATTAN - A Manhattan bodega worker is recovering after being stabbed in the abdomen when he tried to stop a group of shoplifters, the NYPD said. 

At around 3 pm on March 12, a 35-year-old employee was working inside a bodega at 701 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Boulevard). Cops said five males walked into the store and started removing soda, chips and cakes from the store shelves without paying. The group then tried to leave the store, but the clerk chased after them and cornered one of the group. 

Cops said as the clerk argued with one of the shoplifters, the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed the worker in the abdomen. 

As the employee slumped over trying to stop the bleeding, the man with the knife and the other four shoplifters ran off southbound on Madison Avenue. 

EMS rushed the victim to a local hospital where he was treated and was listed in stable condition. 

The NYPD released surveillance video of the suspects. 

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. 

All calls are strictly confidential.